Customizable enhanced headgear wth interchangeable removable elements using a coupling fastening mechanism

ABSTRACT

In accordance with the invention, an interchangeable headgear device is provided. The headgear may include a headgear apparatus including a crown, a brim and an interior portion. The headgear may further include an attachment. The attachment may include a logo portion and a coupling mechanism. The interior portion may include an inner pocket around a circumference of inner portion. The inner pocket may be formed to securely store one or more attachments. In accordance with the invention, the crown and the brim may include an external surfaced formed entirely of female or loop invaginations. The female/loop invaginations may he formed to removably connect with a logo via the coupling mechanism of the attachment. The coupling mechanism may be formed from a plurality of male or hook projections, which may cause the coupling mechanism to grasp the female/loop invaginations of the external surface of the headgear.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Application No. 62/300,383,filed Feb. 26, 2016 and entitled “Customizable Enhanced Headgear withInterchangeable Removable Elements Using a Coupling FasteningMechanism,” the contents of which is incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The subject matter of the present disclosure relates to headgear, andmore particularly, to headgear with interchangeable attachments.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Headgear is a common staple in many people's wardrobe. Headgear may beused for functional purposes, such as to maintain warmth, or protectfrom the sun. In many instances, headgear is also used for aestheticpurposes, such as for fashion, or to show or advertise one's support fortheir favorite professional or amateur sports team. In other instances,headgear may be worn or purchased as a souvenir from a vacation ormemorable occurrence, such as school memorabilia, or for any other of amyriad number of causes or reasons. Common hats, such as a caps(colloquially referred to sometimes as “baseball caps”), may contain adesign or insignia formed on an exterior surface of the cap crown. Inmany instances, the design is a logo or character, and may be used toindicate support for an alma mater, sports team, or cause, or as asouvenir from a memorable trip.

In some instances, individuals may desire to indicate support formultiple causes or teams, but may be limited due to each cause beingformed with its logo on its own individual headgear. In other instances,a person may be going on a trip, and may be confined to taking only onehat. However, for various reasons, the person may wish to have thecapability of displaying various logos or pictorials on the hatthroughout the trip.

It would be desirable, therefore, to provide a hat that allows a personto customize the displayed logo or pictorial. It would be furtherdesirable to provide a hat that allows a person to interchange thevarious logos or insignias of different causes at any point, when sodesired. It would be yet further desirable to allow for customizing thenumber of logos or designs displayed on a hat, without regard toorientation, number of logos or designs, or commonality between them.

In accordance with the invention as set forth below, a hat withcustomizable, interchangeable and removable logos, designs or insigniasis therefore provided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the invention, an interchangeable headgear device isprovided. The headgear may include a headgear apparatus including acrown, a brim and an interior portion. The headgear may further includean attachment. The attachment may include a logo portion and a couplingmechanism. The interior portion may include an inner pocket around acircumference of inner portion. The inner pocket may be formed tosecurely store one or more attachments.

In accordance with the invention, the crown and the brim may include anexternal surfaced formed entirely of female or loop invaginations. Thefemale/loop invaginations may be formed to removably connect with a logovia the coupling mechanism of the attachment. The coupling mechanism maybe formed from a plurality of male or hook projections, which may causethe coupling mechanism to grasp the female/loop invaginations of theexternal surface of the headgear.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent uponconsideration of the following detailed description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGS. 1-3 illustrate exemplary headgear in accordance with theinvention;

FIGS. 4 and 5A-5B illustrate exemplary headgear with attachments inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a profile view of an attachment in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates exemplary male/hook projections in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates exemplary female/loop invaginations in accordancewith the invention;

FIGS. 9-10 illustrate exemplary fastening systems in accordance with theinvention;

FIGS. 11A-11C illustrate exemplary embodiments of attachments secured toheadgear, in accordance with the invention;

FIGS. 12A-12B illustrate an exemplary view of the headgear in accordancewith the invention;

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary attachment in accordance with theinvention;

FIGS. 14A-14B illustrate an exemplary view of the attachment fasteningto the headgear in accordance with the invention;

FIGS. 15A-15B illustrate an exemplary view of the attachment fasteningto the headgear in accordance with the invention;

FIGS. 16 and 17A-17B illustrate an exemplary inner pocket in accordancewith the invention;

FIGS. 18-19 illustrate exemplary three-dimensional attachments inaccordance with the invention; and

FIG. 20 illustrates another exemplary view of headgear in accordancewith the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention, as disclosed herein, is directed to headwear or headgear(referred to collectively as “headwear” or “hats” or “headgear”) withinterchangeable attachments.

Referring now to FIG. 1, illustrated is an exemplary embodiment ofheadwear 100 in accordance with the invention. The headwear may includeany suitable headgear, such as, but not limited to, a hat, cap,headband, helmet, or hood.

Headwear 100 includes crown 110 and brim 120. In one embodiment crown110 and brim 120 may be formed of a unitary construction, such thattheir materials are identical. In another embodiment, crown 110 and brim120 are formed separately, and are attached via any suitable mechanism,including, but not limited to, glue, adhesive, tape sewing, tying,threading, or any other suitable fastener. In yet another embodiment,crown 110 and brim 120 are separately formed, but are formed fromidentical materials, and are attached via any suitable mechanism.

As shown in FIG. 2, crown 110 may be formed, or may be subdivided into,one or panels, such as panels 110 a and 110 b. The panels may bepatterned into the crown 110, or may be manufactured separately and thenjoined via any suitable method. The panels may be of any suitablenumber, such as five panels, as shown in FIG. 3.

Headgear 100 may include one or more removable element or attachments430. The attachment 430 may include a logo, patch, badge, pattern,graphic, letter, design, tag, pictorial illustration, decoration or anyother suitable attachment. For example, the attachment 430 may be alogo, such as a sports team logo, that a user desires to wear on a hat.In another example, the attachment 430 may be a graphic illustrating anattraction that the user has visited, such as a waterfall. As disclosedherein, headgear 100 may include either a singular or plurality ofinventions. It should be noted that the invention contemplates the useof either a singular attachment or multiple attachments. For example, auser may desire to include one large attachment 430, or numerous smallattachments 430, on the crown 120.

The attachments 430 may be formed in any suitable manner, from anysuitable material, including plastic, cotton, polyester, nylon, wool,linen or microfiber. The attachments 430 may be formed via sewing orlaser printing, or any other suitable method. The attachments 430 may beformed in any suitable size. For example, a user may attach one 4 inch×6inch attachment to the front of the headgear 100. In another example,the user may attach five different 1 inch×1 inch attachments 430 atvarious points along headgear 100. The attachment 430 may be formed offabric, embroidered fabric, rubber, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylsiloxane, metal alloys, plastic, or any suitable material. Theattachment 430 may include designs, patches, insignias, characters,letters, various shapes, including, but not limited to, triangle,rectangle, circle, oval, square, hexagon, octagon, pentagon, or anyother suitable shape.

FIGS. 5A-5B illustrate various layouts of attachments 430 as attached toheadgear 100. Referring to FIG. 5A, the attachments 430 may be placed invarying locations on crown 110, in different shapes and sizes. In FIG.5B, due to the brim 120 being formed of the same material as crown 110,illustrated is an attachment 430 placed on the brim.

Using specific materials and/or a specific binding method, the headgear100 allows for interchangeable attachments 430 to be removably attachedat any point on the headgear. Thus, whereas conventional hats providefor patches attached at fixed points during the manufacturing process,the inventive headgear 100 allows for a user to not only customize theirattachments 430 after purchasing the hat, but also allows the user toremove attachments 430 with ease, as well as attach new attachments asdesired.

In accordance with the invention, the headgear 100 may be formed using aprocess for suitably connecting and disconnecting the attachment 430from the brim 120 and/or crown of the headgear 100.

Referring now to FIG. 6, illustrated is an exemplary embodiment of theattachment 430. Formed in this manner, attachment 430 easily attachesand detaches to and from the brim 120 and/or crown 110. Attachment 430is formed of a logo or illustrative portion 640, and a coupling member650. Coupling member 650 may be affixed to logo portion 640 by anysuitable method, such as by bonding or sewing.

In another exemplary embodiment of the invention, the coupling mechanism650 may be formed with a suitable backing, such as one manufactured byVELCRO®. For example, Velcro HTH 833 in Nylon, with hook style #29, maybe used, or any suitable variant thereof. In accordance with anembodiment, the coupling mechanism 650 may be designed for low profileknit and non-woven loops. In an exemplary embodiment, the couplingmechanism 650 may include any suitable number of hooks 760 per squareinch, such as, for example, 1700 hook per square inch. In anotherexemplary embodiment, the hooks 760 may be of any suitable height, suchas, for example, 0.02 inches.

In an embodiment, the coupling mechanism 650 may be sewn to theunderside of the logo portion 640. This may provide maximum resiliency,as well as water-proofing. In another embodiment, the coupling mechanism650 may be adhesively attached, as a backing, to the logo portion 640.The adhesive backing may be formed of a rubber base or an acrylic base.

In one embodiment, the hooks 760, formed as the coupling mechanism 650,may be formed in a vertical position or orientation on the back of thelogo portion 640, in order to maximize retention on the headgear 100.The attachment 430 should 430 may be thin, pliable, bendable orotherwise maneuverable in order to conform to the shape of any suitableheadgear, thereby lying flush with the surface of the headgear.

In one embodiment, shown in FIG. 7, coupling member 650 (also referredto as “coupling mechanism”) is formed of a male/hook projection 760.Referring to FIG. 8, illustrative female/loop invagination 865 is formedto mate with male/hook projection 760, forming a fastener system.

In accordance with the invention, crown 110 of headgear 100 may beformed of female/loop invagination 865. That is, invagination 865 is notformed or affixed to an overlayed crown layer, but instead, forms theactual crown layer 110, providing for a built-in fastener system.

In one embodiment of the invention, the fastener system mayalternatively include female/loop invagination 865 as the basis of thecrown layer 110, while male/hook projection 760 forms coupling member650.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary view of the fastening system utilized tomate headgear 100 with an attachment. On the left side, a strip ofhook/male projections 760 are shown. The hook projections, as described,form a coupling member 650, and along with a logo 640, form theattachment 430.

On the right side, illustrated is a strip of female/loop invaginations865. The female/loop invaginations may be formed at any suitablelocation on the headgear 100, including on the crown 110 and brim 120(including on the underside of the brim). In an exemplary embodiment,the female/loop invaginations 865 mate with the hook/male projections760.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary close-up view of the mating of thefemale/loop invaginations 865 with the hook/male projections 760.

Referring now to FIGS. 11A-11C, attachments 430, utilizing the exemplarymating system, are coupled to the crown 110 or brim 120 at any suitablelocation. In an embodiment, as shown, the entirety of the exteriorsurface of the headgear 100 is covered with a fabric, such as apolyester blend fabric. The polyester blend fabric may be substantiallysimilar or equivalent to female/loop invaginations 865, and may includesome or all of the same features. The covering may be of either a hookor loop design. The polyester fabric may include a plurality ofinvaginations, providing for the coupling of the coupling member 650,affixed to attachment 430. The invaginations may be substantiallysimilar or equivalent to hook/male projections 760, and may include someor all of the same features. Thus, the polyester fabric formed on thesurface of the headgear 100 allows for receiving, via the invaginations,a coupling of the projections of the coupling material formed onattachment 430. This provides for a bond that is strong, and will notcause pilling upon disengagement of the invaginations from theprojections, allowing for numerous coupling and de-coupling occurrences.

FIG. 12A illustrates an exemplary view of an illustrative hat, such asheadgear 100. The entirety of the hat's exterior shell, or outside, isformed of female/loop invaginations 865. This includes crown 110 andbrim 120. FIG. 12B illustrates a close-up of the plurality offemale/loop invaginations 865 forming the hat's exterior. It should benoted that, in accordance with the invention, the invaginations formedon the hat's exterior are not placed over an already existingexterior-instead, the hat's exterior is formed with the invaginationmaterial.

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary view of an attachment 430. As shown,the front attachment 430 contains a logo portion 640, which is displayedexternally-facing on headgear 100. Thus, the invention allows for aconsumer to purchase multiple attachments 430, in any suitable shape,form, color or other customization. That is, the user may customize theheadgear 100 with any desired attachment, so long as the attachmentcontains a logo portion 640, and a coupling member 650.

Coupling member 650, illustrated in FIG. 13B, is formed from male/hookprojections 760, and allows for the logo portion 640 to be successfullydisplayed on headgear 100. That is, the male/hook projections 760 allowthe attachment 430, and in particular, the logo portion, to successfullymate with the headgear 100.

In an embodiment, the logo portion 640 may be bonded onto a sheet ofhooks (such as, for example, hook & loop sheets produced by VELCRO®). Inyet another embodiment, the logo 640 may be directly embroidered onto asheet of hooks.

FIG. 14A illustrates a side of the attachment 430, prior to mating withthe surface of the headgear 100. As shown in FIG. 14B, which representsa zoomed-in view of attachment 430 as it engages the headgear 100, thehook and loops engage one another to fasten the attachment to theheadgear.

In one embodiment, the headgear may be formed of flexible projectionsthat couple with exterior polyester surface of headgear 100. Thus,male/hook projections 760 may form the coupling member 650 of theattachment 430, and couple, via the projections, to female/loopinvaginations 865 located on the brim 120 or crown 110 of headgear 100.The attachment 430 is flush with the undersurface of the male/hookprojections of the coupling member 650, such that when applied toheadgear 100 the attachment 430 and its logo portion 640 are caused layflush with the headgear 100.

In one embodiment, the material forming headgear 100 may be flameretardant.

Referring now to FIG. 15A, illustrated is a side perspective view of theattachment 430 in the process of attachment to the headgear 100. Asshown in FIG. 15B, attachment 430 is laid against the surface ofheadgear 100. In one embodiment, FIG. 15B shows the attachment 430 aspartially removed. In another embodiment, FIG. 15B illustrates theattachment 430 in the process of being applied to the headgear 100.

In accordance with the invention, multiple attachments 430, in anysuitable size, format, or orientation, may be selected and utilized onheadgear 100. The attachments 430 may bind to any location on theheadgear 100, due to the unique coupling system disclosed herein.

Further, the headgear 100 allows the user to select multiple attachments430 to fulfill various customization requirements, instead of purchasingnew hats for each customized option. While this reduces the need formultiple hats, it may increase the total number of desired attachments540.

As shown in FIG. 16, the headgear 100 in accordance with the inventionmay therefore include an inner pocket 1670 located within the insideportion 1680 of headgear 100. The inner pocket 1670 may be formed fromone pocket. The one pocket may proceed around the entirety of the innerperimeter of the inside portion 1680. In an embodiment, the insideportion 1680 may be formed from a plurality of inner pockets 1670, whichmay be located around the inner diameter of inside portion 1680.

FIG. 17A illustrates several attachments residing within the innerpocket 1670. In another embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 17B, the innerpocket 1670 is formed as a single pocket that does not proceed aroundthe entire perimeter.

The inner pocket 1670 is configured to hold and store a plurality ofattachments 430. Thus, attachments that are not currently in use on theexterior of headgear 100 may be stored within the interior of theheadgear, so that they may be easily removed and attached when needed.

Inside portion 1680 and/or inner pocket 1670 may be formed of polyestermaterial. In one embodiment, the interior of inner pocket 1670 may beformed female/loop invaginations 865. The female/loop invaginations 865may therefore engage the male/hook projections 760 on the backside ofattachment 430, keeping the attachment 430 securely engaged within theinner pocket 1670.

FIGS. 18-19 illustrate various additional attachments that may beutilized in accordance with various embodiments. Due to the nature ofthe exterior of the headgear 100, any suitable attachment may be matedto the headgear. Thus, any attachment may be formed with male/hookprojections 760 and mated to the headgear. FIG. 18 therefore illustratesa set of decorative horns that are removably connected in accordancewith an embodiment. FIG. 19 illustrates a decorative attachment that maybe removably connected in accordance with another embodiment, due to thedecorative attachment including the male/hook projections 760.

FIG. 20 illustrates another embodiment of headgear, such as a winterhat, beanie or toque, in accordance with the invention.

In an embodiment, the headgear 100 may include an external pattern,formed using the invaginations, in an east/west orientation. In anotherembodiment, the headgear 100 may include an external pattern, formedusing the invaginations, in a criss-cross pattern. These patterns mayprovide sufficient surface area for retain attachments 430 for longerduration and increased retention, due to the corrugated texture.

Thus, headgear with removable and interchangeable attachments isprovided. The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of thepresent invention have been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit thepresent invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the aboveteaching. The exemplary embodiment was chosen and described in order tobest explain the principles of the present invention and its practicalapplication, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilizethe present invention and various embodiments with various modificationsas are suited to the particular use contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. An interchangeable headgear device, comprising: aheadgear apparatus comprising a crown, a brim and an interior portion,and an attachment, the attachment comprising a logo portion and acoupling mechanism; wherein said interior portion includes an innerpocket around an inner circumference of the inner portion, the innerpocket formed to securely store one or more attachments.
 2. The deviceof claim 1, wherein the crown and brim are formed of unitaryconstruction.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the crown and brimcomprise an external surface, the external surface, the external surfaceformed entirely of female/loop invaginations.
 4. The device of claim 3,wherein the female/loop invaginations are formed to removably connectwith the attachment, via the attachment coupling mechanism.
 5. Thedevice of claim 4, wherein the coupling mechanism is formed from aplurality of male/hook projections, such that coupling mechanism grasps,via the male/hook projections, the female/loop invaginations of theheadgear, forming a removable connection.
 6. The device of claim 1,wherein the inner pocket includes an interior, the interior of the innerpocket formed of female/loop invaginations.
 7. The device of claim 6,wherein the inner pocket includes an attachment stored in the innerpocket.
 8. The device of claim 7, wherein the male/hook projections ofthe attachment stored in the inner pocket are formed to removably graspthe female/loop invaginations in the inner pocket interior, and whereinsaid grasp provides for a secure stored location for the attachments. 9.An interchangeable headgear device, comprising: headgear comprising acrown and a brim, said crown and brim formed of female/hookinvaginations on the exterior, wherein the crown and the brim are formedof unitary construction; and an attachment removably connected to theheadgear, the attachment comprising a logo portion and a couplingmechanism, the coupling mechanism formed of a plurality of male/hookprojections.
 10. The device of claim 9, the headgear device furthercomprising an interior portion, said interior portion including an innerpocket.
 11. The device of claim 9, the headgear device furthercomprising an interior portion, said interior portion including aplurality of inner pockets.
 12. The device of claim 11, wherein theinner pockets are formed to securely store one or more attachments. 13.The device of claim 12, wherein the inner pockets include an interiorformed from a plurality of female/loop invaginations, the female/loopinvaginations formed to grasp the male/hook projection of the couplingmechanism on the attachment.
 14. The device of claim 9, wherein theattachments are formed in any suitable shape or size.
 15. The device ofclaim 9, wherein the attachments are formed in a three-dimensionalshape.
 16. An interchangeable headgear device, comprising: headgearcomprising a crown and a brim, said crown and brim including an externalpattern, wherein the crown and the brim are formed of unitaryconstruction; and an attachment removably connected to the headgear, theattachment comprising a logo portion and a coupling mechanism, thecoupling mechanism formed of a plurality of male/hook projections. 17.The device of claim 16, wherein the external pattern is formed in aneast/west orientation.
 18. The device of claim 16, wherein the externalpattern is formed in a criss-cross orientation.
 19. The device of claim16, wherein the external pattern provides a corrugated texture, thecorrugated texture formed to provide increased grasping abilities.